Charlie Henley just can't catch a break.
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The Emus skipper missed the majority of last season with a torn pectoral muscle and worked his heart out to make it back in time for the finals.
Having lost the grand final to Bathurst Bulldogs in a thriller, he worked throughout the summer to get ready for 2023.
But after suffering an injury 30 minutes into the season opener - a rematch with the Bulldogs in which Emus lost 25-20 - his campaign is almost certainly over.
"I ruptured the tendon in my bicep that attaches to the forearm," he said.
"I'm in no pain at the moment anymore, which I think is because the tendon is completely gone."
As for how the injury happened, Henley described it as "one of the more innocuous" moments he's ever been involved in.
After giving away a penalty, he gave what could only be described as a small shove to one of the opposition players. That's all it took.
"It wasn't even a swinging arm like how these normally happen. It just popped, a really sudden pop," he said.
"I played on for two or three minutes to get some feeling back in the arm, but then I realised after looking down there was a gap around the elbow where the bottom of the bicep should be. I knew I'd done something and it was bad in the sense that I couldn't keep playing."
Between Saturday when he sustained the injury and Monday when he was able to see a doctor, Henley held out hope that it wasn't as bad as first feared.
"But the reason I wasn't in so much pain was because it was a complete rupture," he said when asked what the scans showed.
"I spent the whole off-season seeing a trainer trying to get the body into a position to play this year, with a goal of being captain of the side, playing Central West and all those sort of things. To have that ripped away within 30 minutes of footy, I'm pretty gutted."
While the loss of Henley on the field will no doubt be a big blow for Emus in their goal to reclaim the Blowes Cup, that's not the only part of his life impacted by the injury.
"I've got a little fella who is 18 months old at the moment and my wife is due in three weeks," he said.
"I've got all of that to deal with and looking after two kids with one arm is going to be pretty tough. That's the hardest impact."
The 32-year-old praised his teammates and the club as a whole for all the assistance they have offered since Saturday's injury.
As for how Emus move forward from here in a football sense, Henley still believes they've got what it takes to go all the way.
"There's some serious talent in that side," he said.
"We're lucky to have Harry Todd. His preferred position is hooker, so he's a ready made replacement. In terms of on the park, they're in a good position going forward and I just hope it's not too similar to last year where we deal with injuries all year."
Henley said while a return to the field this season wasn't impossible, his 2023 campaign was almost certainly over.
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